Monthly Archives: July 2009

I have been silent on my blog about the death of Michael Jackson. Part of it is due to the oversaturation of the event in the media, but part of it is the time it takes me to process some things. I didn’t know what Michael Jackson’s death meant to me. I was sorry he died, felt bad for his family, etc., but other than that had no real strong feeling. It wasn’t until my 10 year old nephew began sending me Michael Jackson music videos that it began to have more of an impact of me. He sent me the video “Black and White,” and I responded “I was 11 years old when this came out.” And I remember when the video aired. A Michael Jackson video being aired was a big event when I was a kid. This one aired simultaneously on November 14, 1991, n 27 countries. He really revolutionized what you could do with the music video. He also used them to provoke a reaction. Jackson got involved in trying to unite the world, and I think that was a fitting role for him. Jackson had vitiligo, in which the pigment of your skin is lost. I have known people with this condition, and it is usually a slow process where the pigment disappears in patches. Did Jackson have the process expedited? Maybe, but I don’t know that I would blame him, he was very much in the public eye. The nose thing? Was he trying to look more “white” I don’t have the answers to that. Maybe Jackson saw himself as a bridge. A bridge between races, cultures, and sexes and genders. Maybe his appearance reflected that.

Jackson was also a great entertainer. I can still remember the first time I saw the full length “Thriller” video. It was in my cousin Emily’s basement, just after dusk, the lights out as we sat cross legged close in front of the tv. I was a little scared, I admit it. As time went on and Jackson became more the butt of jokes and criticized in the media, I didn’t know what to think. Jackson was odd, sure, but that’s not against the law, and most successful performers are quirky in some way or other. As far as the allegations, well in this country you are innocent until proven guilty, so who am I to say? I can say the media was hypocritical in its portrayal of him before and after his death. I can say that I think they went overboard on the coverage when I wanted to know what was happening in Iran, as well. But the media has never really been known for being impartial– a big part of what they are is entertainment and selling commercial slots. I did enjoy Jon Stewarts “Rippy Awards” on the daily show, which mocked the mainstream American media coverage. I think it should have been covered, just not to the 24/7 extent it took on. And as Jackson was very private in life, he probably wouldn’t have been too keen on that either.

In short, I’m saying that I still don’t know what to say, and that’s not much. But after my nephew sent those videos, I felt I had to say something. Because his music is still affecting people, and that is what his legacy will be.

I was exploring Carolyne Mistake’s blog and catching up on her latest exploits, when I read about aloe juice. The next day I was in Lotus Foods, one of the Asian grocery stores in the Strip District. I was in the checkout line with some dried cod with chili spice when I looked to my right and saw bottles of aloe juice. Well, I had to give it a try. My verdict is that it is very tasty. It is citrusy-sweet and tastes very refreshing. There were pieces (like puply stuff) in it some, but they were really smooth, like the texture of tapioca bubbles, but shaped differently.

Marko in the rose bush

Marko has been enjoying exploring the outdoors. We take him with us out in the backyard and sometimes out front. We also got him a harness and bungee leash so we can take him further away with us. When we are outside he likes to stalk and hunt bugs and birds and sometimes, just lay in the shade or in the sun.

I took my friend Heather to the Humane Society so she could explore her options as a volunteer. She signed up for the dog walking and bunny buddy training and I signed up for bunny buddy and cat cuddler training. Then she came with me when I walked a dog, London. London was very submissive. He walked past the other dog cages with his head down and ears back. Once we got outside, he was so happy to walk. He was playful, affectionate, and loved the treats. He is really skinny, but I’m sure he’ll put on weight swiftly.

Hello again, and welcome back to the continuing adventures of me. Glad you could come on this journey with me. Let’s see what I have for you today. Well, first of all, a picture of my panther, Marko, and his sharp baby teeth!

Pantera

Awww isn’t he just ferocious? Or maybe just sleepy, who can say…

Marko has discovered that dropping his toy mouse on my head from the ledge over the bed is an effective way to wake me up in the morning. Haha. As long as it’s not a real mouse, were okay.

Today I went shopping in the strip a bit. I’ve been going to Labad’s, which is a store run by two Syrian brothers. Today I got Bulgarian feta, bulgar wheat, and sour cabbage leaves. Rado is going to make stuffed cabbage leaves. It’s like stuffed grape leaves, only better.

I went to Petco to get a bungee leash to walk Marko, I’ll let you know how that progresses. He’s still getting used to having the harness on for a little bit at a time.

Today I walked two dogs at the humane society, Candy and Moose. Candy was really slender, but I have a feeling she’ll put on some more weight quickly, because she loved the treats! She was a little shy and reserved, but very well behaved and stayed close to me the whole walk. Moose is a rottweiler mixed with something with longer fur. He is a big lap dog. I sat down on a bench and he immediately hopped up into my lap. All four legs. I’d say he weighed at least 55 pounds. He was so affectionate though, it was nice to have him on my lap for a little while. I can’t find his info up on the WPA Humane site- will check again later. John Elliff, if you read this, I thought of you and your late Moose when I had him out today.

Meet Moose

I haven’t been posting here in a while, so I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. In the interest of preventing a long rambling entry, I will try to summarize what I have been up to and if any of them strike you, I can go more in depth on the subject. I will start from this morning and then work my way through the month of June.

4 July 2009

The WPA Humane Society shelter was open from 9-11 today for volunteers only since it’s Independence Day, so I went to walk some dogs. The shelter has been slammed with surrenders recently, so they are really full. If you are thinking of fostering or adopting, now is the time. I walked two dogs. I walked a puppy named Ashley and a big boy named Sunny.

Sunny has a name that suits him because he definitely has a sunny disposition. He has had a rough life and was found tied to a park bench for a couple days. But he is so friendly and full of joy now, let him bring some sunshine into your life!

Out of some of the dogs I’ve walked, Buddy, Hercules, and Dreamcicle have all been recently adopted! I have gone on two off site events with the shelter, one to Bark in the Park in Mt Washington, and one to Lucky Paws Pet Resort in Freedom, PA.

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June 1-2

We adopted a kitten from the WPA Humane Society. I came to walk dogs and it was feeding time, so I went in to visit the cats while I was waiting. The whole time I was in there, one kitten would not stop meowing the whole time except when I was at his cage. He also kept reaching his paws out thru the bars and knocked his sign off. Later that day, I brought Rado back to see him and it was love at first sight. I really think the cat picked us. His original name was Oreo, but we changed it to Marko Meowii. Oreo is still his middle name I guess. We named him Marko because our adoption counselor was named Mark and because of the Bulgarian folk hero Krali Marko. Meowii because of how vocal he is and how he made our hearts melt. We did the paperwork June 1st, but he had to be neutered still, so we got to pick him up the afternoon of June 2nd. He is a joy to have in our lives. Marko has his own blog at http://markomeow.wordpress.com

Marko and Me

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June 18th

I started a Calligraphy class today at CCAC. It is a non-credit community education course. I love it! I had been exposed to calligraphy in 7th grade and liked it then, but had no idea how many different calligraphy alphabets there are. So far we have learned Italic, and two kinds of Versals. Next week we are doing the Celtic alphabet. It is a lot of fun and I hope to incorporate it into my poetry and make my poetry as much a visual art as a literary art.

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June 22nd

I have started playing tennis. Surprisingly I am not atrociously terrible at it. Rado and I have been playing in the park and we are both learning, so we don’t get a lot of volley back and forth, but are happy when we hit it. We have my parents rackets, which everyone who saw them had to comment on how old they were. They are heavy wooden rackets probably from the late 70s, early 80s. They still work just fine, thank you. They are both WIlson rackets, one “Chris Evert Personal” and the other “Stan Smith Pro Cup” Rado bought me a more lightweight racket at a church yard sale down the street. It works pretty good too. It’s titanium and is a Wilson Rak Attack Jr.

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June 23-25

Went to Ohio to help my brother with the dogs. Took Akira in my Dad’s car to the park, and walked Shiro around the neighborhood.

We had dinner at the neighbors across the street. It was a very international dinner with one of our hosts being from France, and of the guests a couple- one from France, one from Italy- and a couple from Senegal. Rado played his accordion and everyone danced or played maracas and clapped. It was really fun. We hope to have more evenings like that.

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June 28th

We had some people over to watch the Confederation Cup Final- U.S.A vs Brazil. U.S.A dominated in the first half, but Brazil recovered in the second half and overtook the U.S. 3-2. I was very impressed with how good the U.S. team is getting. Our goalie is especially superb. I hope it makes soccer/(football to the rest of the world) more popular here.

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Random: Other than that, I’ve been working a lot, riding my bike, playing with Marko, playing with my Burmese nephews, trying to blog at my new funk music blog http://trufunksoulja.wordpress.com , sketching and drawing more, writing, reading, and trying to enjoy life. Until next time,